Do these facts sound familiar?

• MGOs do not feel they are using their time efficiently.
• Admin tasks and bad data are prohibiting MGOs from meeting with donors. They are spending time scheduling meetings rather than actually meeting with donors.
• MGOs are connecting with only half of their caseload donors each year.
• Half of the MGOs are not spending enough time on solicitation.
• 44% are not spending enough time managing donor relationships.
• Managers are measuring activity rather than results, a wrong focus on what will cause success.

And all of this is causing MGO burnout, with the average tenure for a MGO sitting at 16 months – with replacement costs sitting at $127,650!
All of these facts are written up in an article by Autumn Arnett in Education Dive, where she talks about What Your Development Office Is Getting Wrong. Take some time to read it.
And then think about what you can do to deal with the very things that, if they continue for you, will rip the spirit right out of you and cause your revenue to go down.
All of the items on this list, and many more just like them, are symptomatic of four things that need your attention and repair:

1. Getting rid of administrative tasks (scheduling, reports, research) if you can. You may have to show your boss this blog and article to make the case.
2. Qualifying donors so you have the right donors on your caseload. Remember, only 1 in 3 donors that meet a major gift metric in your organization actually wants to talk to you. You will waste a ton of time trying to talk to them. Tiering them will help further. Talk to the right donors.
3. Creating goals and plans for each donor on your caseload. This action alone will make sure you DO the right things for every donor on your caseload.
4. Focus on having meaningful connections and working your plan for each donor, NOT metrics that measure volume of activity – which are a complete waste of time.

Get this work done, and every day will get better as you start to experience more success in your job.
Richard